Florence, AL
November 22, 2008
Official Results
It is now four days later coming off of this race and it still has not sunk in as to what I personally accomplished. Joey Butler mentioned to me today that he wanted to hear about the smack down I put on the Shoals on Saturday, despite the fact that I rode over with him and Shane Oneil. I guess in a way, despite not winning the race, it was a mild smack down on the rest of the field. Here is the story, for you Joey Butler.
It was a tough morning, having to get up before 4am to get showered, caffinated and packed to meet the boys at 5:40a in Madison. I hit snooze only once though, knowing that I needed an hour minimum to be up and awake in order for my body to get in race morning mode. After some last minute dealings with one Sirius Beagle who wanted to get up and see her daddy before he left, I was on my way at twenty minutes after 5. Our usual meeting place is the Barnes and Noble parking lot at Bridge Street, though it is usually just the dynamic duo; this voyage we loaded up a side kick with Shane, now training and racing well, in search of fast times and PR's that the Shoals races usually bring.
After picking up the boys, drinking more coffee than I should have, eating a toasted (and now cold) bagel with light garden vegetable cream cheese and having driven 64 miles to the west, we pulled up the Google map feature on my Blackberry Curve and began to drive the course. As with any other race featuring a literal name, this race would run over the (Wilson) Dam, along the TVA running trail and then back over the (Patton Island) Bridge. I was a little concerned going into the race that the course was hilly and would be slow, but after our jaunt over the river and back, I had new confidence that this would be a great race day.
The other concern that I had in which I should have mentioned at the start was the fact that the projected temperature at race time was to be 23 degrees. I was a little anxious when on the way over the thermometer read 16, which was a record low for northern Alabama on this day. I race so well in cold temps, but this might be at the level where the cold air hurts to breathe; I would take it in stride and see how I felt during warm ups.
The alternate reason for driving to this race was the fact that I had been drawn and entered to win a 2-yr lease on a new Ford from Family Ford; the drawing was after the awards ceremony. I had maybe a 1 in 50 chance (based on returning registrants) of winning, so this added additional suspense.
After going into the Shoals Conference Center to register, we went out to warm up. I chose to warm up in tights, despite the fact that I knew I would race in split shorts. The three of us ran about a mile out and back along the last mile of the course as to help visualize the final moments of the race.
With just minutes left, we made our way to the start. I still had on my RCM06 shirt that I would toss at the start and pick up later. At the start I did some last minute pick-ups. Normally you see a lot of people at the start doing these, but I was the only one. It wasn't until coming back from the last one that I saw Lucas Sieb. Until that point, I had checked off all of the usual suspects from the guys who usually make the trek and have race winning capabilities. No George and no Bowman. Many HTC members were running Dizzy 50's on this day, which kept the field small. That said, serious competition still lied in Hirbo Hirbo, Jon Elmore and perennial Shoals golden boy Heath White. Heath edged out George last year, both breaking 34 minutes. The rest of the top 5 in 2007 were all under 35; a time that I had never broken. Actually, coming in to this race, I was more than a minute off of that mark, with a 36:01 10k PR from this summer at Run your Bass Off in Crystal Falls, MI. But Lucas was a stud; a 15 year old stud whom I had never beaten and I heard that he was coming off of a stage age record for the 10k at age 15 the weekend before. He would be tough to beat.
My game plan was to go out hard and hang on. This was not the goal race, but I still wanted to have a good showing. The gun went off and Lucas took off of the parking lot at 4:30 pace. I tried to stay with him, but by the end of the parking lot and at the first turn, he was already leading the way.
I knew that I needed to make a statement in the first 1/2 mile regardless of Lucas or not. My race was not against the clock and against the rest of the field. As you can see from this picture, I quickly took over 2nd place and never looked back.
We made another right turn and headed down toward the bridge. The northern end of the bridge had a slight down hill so it would be a fast mile. The only problem was that we were running straight into the wind; maybe a 10-15mph headwind. Despite the struggles, I still managed a 5:22 first mile. With that, I was 21 seconds behind Lucas already, but could no longer hear any footsteps behind me. I was guessing that Hirbo would run about a 5:45 first mile. I had to put a lead on him, to avoid his finishing kick, which got me at Da Doo Run Run.
The second mile was still into the wind to cross the rest of the bridge and then around the power house, making our way to the trail. I could barely see Lucas round the power house. I honestly was starting to fear that I would not know where to turn without seeing the lead cyclist. Luckily it was well marked and course volunteers helped to point out the way. I had relaxed slightly in this mile, to compensate for the first mile being slightly too fast, logging a 5:33, now at 10:55 or a 5:28 average.
The third mile was sort of struggle for me, as it was all on the paved green way. It was rolling up and down, side to side. I did not see a single person on this stretch and it was hard to keep a constant rhythm. At the far west end of the woods, the course made a cone turn and 135 degrees back to the north. There were a few volunteers here, both with dogs and on mountain bikes; I thought that this was amusing. The man yelled out that I was looking good and was having a great race. I looked up at the clock at the 3 mile mark and it read 16:34. This was only 10 seconds off the total time for my last 5k at Liz Hurley, when I ran a PR 17:04. The third mile was a 5:39, so slightly slow, but as I mentioned this was easily excused. The pace was now 5:31 average.
Off of the 5k split, we made our way onto the bridge and into the 'tunnel'. It was a chain link cage over the walk way to keep jumpers from, well, jumping. It felt kind of closed in, despite the concrete wall on each side only being 2-3' high. This section was slightly downhill and I could again see Lucas. I decided that since I could not see anyone behind me when I came off the turn, that I would try to drop the hammer and close the gap. I ran a 2:39 half mile split (5:18 pace), but Lucas was already averaging well below that and my effort didn't matter much. The clock at the 4 mile mark was hanging cleverly overhead and it read 22:02 when I ran under it. It made me think about to what I call the short distance race of my career, back in 2006. At the time, I was running low 18 5k's and somehow dropped a 22:53 4 mile race, taking 3rd overall; all coming a week off a 3:17 marathon. Shattering my 4 mile PR in a 10k race actually made me smile. With this fast mile of 5:28, I was able to keep the average pace at 5:31.
At this point, I started doing the math on how much I could slow down and still break 35. I am not sure why these thoughts go through my head, but they do. I guess it shows some mental weakness. Note to self, 'work on that.'
We came out of the tunnel and made a fast right, running through another aid station. Too late to take anything now, but I wasn't thirsty anyway, so it didn't matter. This mile had quite a few hills, including one up to Veteran's drive, where my instantaneous pace dropped to 6+. I made the turn and it took a few meters to get my legs back. I was also slowing slightly so that I could save some for the kick at the end, should the gap behind me be closing and not knowing about it until too late. There were no opportunities to look back, so I really didn't know. The 5th mile was a 5:46, bringing me to 27:48 or 5:34 pace. The math that I did in the tunnel told me that I needed to hit 27:50 or better to break 35, assuming a slow final mile. I was still on track.
The sixth mile was half on rolling hills and then ended with a fast turn back into the parking lot before one final lap of the convention center. I was elongating my stride at times, trying to maintain speed, while conserving energy with less leg turnover. I am not sure if this works, and I can't keep it up for long, but I have done it before and it seems to help. Having run this section before the race helped me to know what to expect. I logged a 5:40 mile, bringing me to 33:28 or 5:35 pace. I knew now that I just had to dig in and run fast around the building to set a major PR. I did finally get a chance to look around and see that there was no one around.
I made the last corner, to see the clock and pick up the pace through the finish. I was hurting a little, mostly from the pounding on the cold concrete damn/roads/bridge, but the pain did not matter now. It was about to be over. I crossed the line at 34:44.41 (34:45 officially), in second place. I tugged off the bottom section of my race bib in the chute and walked over to congratulate Lucas and say hello to his parents. I would later find out that he ran 32:45 and beat me by two minutes. After that, I walked back to the finish line and waited for the next runner to come in. It was nearly two minutes before Hirbo came in. Then a few more runners, including Jon and Shane, and then Joey just minutes later. Everyone had a great day.
When the dust settled, I had cut 1:17 off of my old (maybe soft?) 10k personal record set earlier in the year. Then the story of my life, I finished 2nd for the 11th time in 110 races. What is the saying about 'always a bridesmaid, never a...' Anyway, it means get faster and start winning or stop showing up.
After a short cool down, we made our way back in for the awards. None of us won the car, but Joey and Shane were tops in their age group, Jon was the masters winner and I was 2nd. It makes me sound like a 2nd grader, but I prefer awards to gift certificates or prize money. In 20 years, I will not remember what pair of shoes the prize money went for, but I will see the trophy and remember how great it felt to shatter my 10k PR, and like Joey says, 'lay a little smack down on the Shoals.'
You can criticize me for liking material trophies and recognition for performance in races, but that is who I am and that is part of what motivates me. What works for me, doesn't work for others and I respect what works for you, so I expect the same.
As always, I give thanks for the ability to put one foot in front of the other and do it so fast for so long. I also appreciate all of the training partners that log miles with me and push me to be my best.
01 Lucas Sieb, 15 32:45 5:17
02 Eric Charette, 32 34:45 5:36
03 Hirbo Hirbo, 22 36:37 5:54
04 Graham Paxton, 27 36:53 5:57
05 Jon Elmore, 42 37:06 5:59
06 Shane O'Neill, 36 37:29 6:02
07 Shawn Greenhill, 30 38:14 6:10
08 Chad Hintz, 23 38:20 6:11
09 Brian Yueill, 39 38:30 6:12
10 Heath White, 25 38:45 6:15
11 Steve Rogers, 55 39:11 6:19
12 Jeffrey Suppinger, 34 40:31 6:32
13 Emily Ryan, 31F 40:45 6:34
14 Scott Butler, 45 40:47 6:34
15 Tanner Ryan, 16 40:59 6:36
16 Luke Mould, 15 41:01 6:36
17 Cesar Virto, 19 41:20 6:39
18 Mike Cannon, 48 41:41 6:43
19 Stacey Lemay, 46 41:58 6:46
20 Joey Butler, 40 42:07 6:47